How to Tell if a Book is Ghostwritten?

Sometimes a book mentions that a ghostwriter was involved in the writing process, but readers still don’t notice this because they overlook the obvious hints. Let’s talk about how to easily recognize books created through collaboration between an author and a writer.

1. Two names on the cover, but the second one is preceded by the conjunction "with."

When Henry Ford's book My Life and Work was first published in 1922, the dust jacket, spine, and title page stated, "by Henry Ford in collaboration with Samuel Crowther."

Now they write shorter: "with." The original cover of the book I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (2013), reads "by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb.

In the Ukrainian translation of the book published by "Nash Format," it is stated that the book was written by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb. In the West, the conjunction "and" is used only for official co-authors.

2. Two names on the cover, but the second is preceded by the phrase "as told to."

On the title page of Richard Feynman's memoir Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character (1985), we read "as told to Ralph Leighton, edited by Edward Hutchings."

"As told to" means that the author provided the material for the book verbally, while another person handled the writing and literary editing. Sometimes one person gathers the author's spoken material, and another transforms it into a book: Feynman's spoken stories were collected by his friend Ralph Leighton, and they were turned into a book by Edward Hutchings. The rights to the book are held by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton.

"As told to Andrii Pavlyshyn" could have been written on the cover of the first part of Larisa Krushelnytska's memoir Cutting Down the Forest  (The Krushelnytsky Family). As Andriy Pavlyshyn recalls, he had many conversations with Larisa Krushelnytska, which he first recorded on a tape recorder and then edited for literary style. The memoirs were first published in 1990 in the magazine "Dzvin," and as a book, they were released in 2001.

3. Two names on the cover, but only one person holds the rights to the book.

If you're unsure whether it's co-authorship or a collaboration between an author and a ghostwriter, check the book's copyright information — who holds the rights? Ghostwriters rarely hold them.

Sam Walton's book Made in America (1992), which tells the story of how Walmart was founded, was written with the help of John Huey. Huey even posted a co-author's note in a separate chapter, which might lead readers to believe the book has two authors. However, the copyright belongs solely to Sam Walton.

4. Two names on the cover, and two people have the rights to the book, but the book is written on behalf of one person.

The book The IBM Way: Insights Into the World's Most Successful Marketing Organization (1986), written by IBM CEO Francis G. "Buck" Rodgers with writer Robert L. Shook. Both Rodgers and Shook own the rights to the book; both are listed as co-authors in online bookstores. However, the history of IBM is written in the first person, and that person is Buck Rodgers.

"I don`t think a company or a business person anywhere cam fail to learn something from IBM", Buck Rogers tells us in the Introduction, and this "I" suggests that Shook was only helping Rogers tell the story.

5. In the Acknowledgments, the author mentions a ghostwriter among the people who helped write the book.

The author can thank the editor, assistant, journalist, consultant, researcher, coach, mentor — and any of these people can actually be a ghostwriter.

How to understand who exactly is the ghostwriter? It's the person thanked for working on the book without specifying their contribution, for rewriting or revising the text, preparing materials, working on the first drafts, or finalizing the drafts.

You can google the name of the person whom the author is thanking and add the word "ghostwriter" to your search. If the search doesn't turn up anything, try adding the word "writer" or "editor" to the name.

In the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), the author Stephen R. Covey mentions in his acknowledgments Ken Shelton editor of Executive Excellence magazine, who helped the author with the first version of the manuscript.

In the second edition of Gemba Kaizen (2012), Imai Masaaki writes "I must thank Jacob Stoller of StollerStrategies for bringing his editorial, journalistic, and creative skills, which were essential to the successful completion of this project." We google "Jacob Stoller ghostwriter" and read "Jacob Stoller is an author, speaker, consultant, and ghostwriter specializing in strategic management and communication".

6. Except for the author, the editor is mentioned on the cover.

Sometimes an editor is just an editor, but in this case, they are not mentioned on the cover. For an editor to be mentioned on the cover or title page, his or her contribution to the book must be more significant than the actual editorial work.

My Years with General Motors (1963) was written by Alfred Sloan with the help of John McDonald, Catherine Stevens, and Alfred Chandler. The first cover of the book states that it was edited by John MacDonald with Katherine Stevens.

Chandler researched the company's archives and is mentioned by the author in the preface. Stevens typed and edited Sloan's oral histories, and MacDonald, in addition to literary processing of the author's texts, also worked on the semantic content of the book.

Alfred Sloane did not hide the fact that he wrote the book together with a hired writer, who is listed on the cover as an editor. The details became known only after the publication of A Ghost's Memoir in 2003, in which John Macdonald described how Sloane's book was written and published. By the way, John MacDonald also had an assistant while working on his memoirs.

7. The author or ghostwriter spoke about their collaboration on the book.

The 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, is also known as the author of Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.

Many researchers have argued that most of the work on Kennedy's book was done by his adviser and speechwriter Ted Sorensen, who is mentioned in the book as the person who helped to gather and prepare the material. Kennedy and Sorensen denied this, so for decades the public had no reason to believe that Kennedy's book was a ghostwrite.

Only in his memoirs Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History (2007), Ted Sorensen admitted that he made "a first draft of most of the chapter" and "helped choose the words of many of its sentences", adding that John F. Kennedy remains the author of the book.

8. The author equally split the fee and/or royalties with someone.

The rumors about Ted Sorensen's ghostwriting of John F. Kennedy's book Profiles in Courage probably emerged not only because Sorensen was Kennedy's speechwriter, but also because market insiders knew that Kennedy shared with Sorensen the fee he received from the publisher.

Alfred Sloane also shared the book's royalties with John MacDonald, who is credited on the cover as editor — authors do not share royalties with ordinary assistants, editors, or consultants.

However, the public at large does not know the financial details, so if the author or ghostwriter does not talk about their collaboration on the book, we have to draw conclusions from more obvious signs.

As a rule, a book has several signs that the author used a ghostwriter, so it is impossible to make a mistake. Donald Trump's book, The Art of the Deal, written in the first person, also states that it was created with Tony Schwartz, all rights to the book belong to Trump, and he shared the royalties with Schwartz, as we know from interviews.

The book was published in Ukrainian by KM-BUKS, and Trump and Schwartz are listed on the cover as co-authors, which can also confuse the reader, since the book is written on behalf of one person.

9. The author works in a field where hiring a ghostwriter has long been the norm.

If the book is authored by a Western politician, CEO of a large company, sports, entertainment, or social media star, it is almost 100% likely that a ghostwriter was involved in the text, as people from these fields usually do not have the time, skills, or desire to write on their own.

In a Ukrainian translation, the mention of a ghostwriter may be removed, so it is better to refer to the original. For example, in the Ukrainian translations of Ford's book published by "Nash Format" and "Folio," there is no mention of Crowther.

It is no longer common for Western leaders to hide the hiring of ghostwriters. For example, Hillary Rodham Clinton writes in her book Hard Decisions (2014): "And the easiest choice I made was to ask Dan Schwerin, Ethan Gelber, and Ted Widmer to become my book team".

In Ukraine, the hiring of a ghostwriter is less often publicly recognized, and it is mostly done by people who are confident and easily adopt the best Western practices. For example, cover of the book The Fourth Republic states that it was written by Boris Lozhkin with Vladimir Fedorin.

Change: Oct. 18, 2024, 1:02 p.m.